1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to packaging suitable for food products and a cutout blank for forming it.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Packaging including at least one wall formed in a semi-rigid material such as cardboard, including at least one edge defining an opening for inserting articles, in particular foods, and at least one first flap articulated to the edge about a folding line, which packaging is adapted to be conformed into a service position in which the flap uncovers the opening and a storage configuration in which the flap closes the opening, is known in the art.
It is routinely used to package a flexible sachet containing foods such as breakfast cereals (xe2x80x9ccorn flakesxe2x80x9d), for example.
In the storage configuration mentioned above the packaging is closed after an irreversible first opening operation in which closure members for making the packaging completely airtight are peeled off or torn.
When it is in the storage configuration, the packaging generally provides a mediocre seal, as a result of which the organoleptic characteristics of its content may be degraded.
An object of the present invention is to provide packaging of the kind mentioned above which provides a better seal when reclosed.
This object of the invention is achieved by packaging having at least one wall formed in a semi-rigid material such as cardboard, wherein the wall has at least one edge defining an opening for inserting articles, in particular foods, and at least one first flap articulated to the edge along a folding line, which packaging is adapted to be conformed into a service configuration in which the flap uncovers the opening and a first storage configuration in which the flap closes the opening, and in which the wall includes reversible deformation means for conforming the packaging into a second storage configuration in which the first flap clamps the wall in a substantially sealed manner along the folding line and in the area of the edge.
Because of these features, the opening of the packaging can be squeezed shut when the flap is closed again, which limits the exchange of air between the inside and the outside of the packaging, so that the content of the packaging is stored under conditions that are almost as satisfactory as those prevailing before it was opened for the first time.
If the content of the packaging is inside a flexible sachet, clamping the wall of the packaging also holds the sachet in a position in which its top part is rolled up on itself, for example, which further improves the seal obtained.
The present invention also relates to a blank formed in a semi-rigid material such as cardboard and including:
first, second, third and fourth rectangular panels in succession in that order and connected to each other by first, second and third vertical folding lines,
a gluing lug connected to the first panel by a fourth vertical folding line,
first, second, third and fourth flaps respectively connected to the first, second, third and fourth panels by first, second, third and fourth horizontal folding lines,
fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth flaps respectively connected to the first, second, third and fourth panels opposite the first, second, third and fourth flaps by fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth horizontal folding lines, and
first and second groups of deformation folding lines formed on the second and fourth panels and on the second and fourth flaps, substantially defining inverted Y-shapes whose branches respectively extend substantially from the middles of the second and fourth horizontal folding lines to the first and second vertical folding lines, on the one hand, and to the third and fourth vertical folding lines, on the other hand, and whose stems are in substantially median areas of the second and fourth flaps.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent on reading the following description and examining the accompanying drawings.